


The Lost and Forgotten

by Usagi_Baka



Category: Bleach, D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Kidnapping, Memory Alteration, mentioned character deaths
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-05
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-02-16 05:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2256975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Usagi_Baka/pseuds/Usagi_Baka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kanda Yuu doesn't remember much of his time before the Order. All memories are a jumbled, fuzzy mess, it doesn't get any better as time goes on; if anything it only seems to get worse. He's not exactly sure who he is anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The cold breeze gently caressed Yuu's cheeks as he looked out at the dark garden. The only source of light coming from the bright moon above. The soft rustling of the trees a soothing sound in the otherwise silent night.

A soft grin stretched his face as he cautiously took a step forward, his feet leaving the hard wooden floor, and landing on the soft well trimmed grass. A sense of pride filling him as he glanced around the empty garden.

He had never managed to make it out of his own bedroom, let alone into the manors garden, at this time of night. His grandfather and older brother always managed to catch him before he had even slid the door open.

The thought of his grandfather and brother gave him pause -if he was caught, his grandfather would be upset with him, angry even,- before shrugging the thought away and happily making his way to the pond that lay off center in the garden.

He dropped to his knees to lean over the pond, taking in the sight of the colorful fish in the pond, a happy smile on his face. Dark strands of hair fell forward, blocking his view for no more than a second, before they were brushed aside by child sized hands. Soft laughter filled the silence in the quiet garden, as a vibrant Koi fish splashed the water, sending droplets of water flying upwards and into the dark haired child’s face.

There was a shuffle and then the sound of approaching footsteps. Yuu tensed before turning, catching sight of a tall silhouette. He was on his legs in a matter of seconds, shuffling away from both the pond and the unknown man.

“Who are you?” Asked Yuu, watching the much taller man carefully. The mans face was barely visible in the dark. The hood he wore kept his face hidden. Yuu could just barely make out the sharp jaw line and well defined nose, but it was enough to know that this man was not one he knew.

“Grab him,” the man spoke just loud enough to be heard. Yuu takes in a breath, but before he can let out yell, a second man is on him, grabbing him and holding a large palm over his face covering his mouth.

“Now, now. We need you to hold still or we're gonna have to hurt you,” the first one says as he pulls out what looks like rope; making quick work of his arms.

“Hurry, we want get out here before that old man realizes we're here,” the second man grunts, shifting his hold on Yuu slightly, raising the child higher, and closer to the first man. Yuu sees his chance and takes it, he kicks his leg out, catching the first man in the throat.

Yuu bites down hard on the second mans hand. He feels blood in his mouth, hot and coppery and disgusting. The man lets him go, out of surprise or pain Yuu doesn't know or care. Yuu falls to ground hard, but he scrambles to his feet and runs. He just picks a direction and goes. There are patrols, someone should be nearby or at very least close enough to hear him scream. He can hear the sound of someone pursuing him, knows it's his kidnappers.

“GRANDPA!” He screams as loud as he can, “NII-”

Something catches his ankle, causing him to flail forward and down, landing on the well trimmed grass with a painful thud, his tied arms trapped underneath him. He's grabbed by his legs and dragged back, his chin scraping painfully against the grass. He lashes out, but the assailant is ready and easily dodges his legs.

“Hurry and tie his legs down,” the second man demands, looming over his partner and Yuu, “Someone would have heard him.”

“Shut up!” The first man hissed, shoving a piece of cloth into Yuu's mouth, effectively silencing any further shouting. He wasted no more time, quickly tying down the child's legs together, and putting a stop to Yuu's flailing.

“Lets get outta here already,” the second one grunted, dragging Yuu off the floor and hoisting him over a shoulder.

“Yeah,-” the other spoke before falling quiet at the sound of rushing footsteps got closer. The dark hallway that led further into the manor was quickly lit by the soft glow of light as people quickly approached.

“Crap, move!” The first man commanded, turning away from the hallway and breaking into a run, his partner right behind him.

“Stop! There are intruders! Inform Kuchiki-taichou!”

X_x-x-x-x-x_X

The shouting and loud footsteps was not what had woken Byakuya. It was the cold feeling of dread that had filled him as he slept. The feeling that told him, urged him to check on his younger brother.

It had gone ignored for the first few minutes. Byakuya silently telling himself that Yuu was fine. He was asleep in bed, like he always was at this time of night.

Except, had Yuu not made a habit of trying to sneak out of his room the last few days? To prove that he was more than capable of sneaking around without anyone’s notice? He had not tried that night. That thought had him throwing his covers aside, and quickly making his way out of his room.

The distance between his room and his brother's was not great, maybe a few feet. A distance easily covered in a matter of seconds, but the feeling of dread filling him made it feel like it had taken hours.

His brother's bedroom door slid open easily, and that put him at ease for only a second, before he caught sight of the empty bed. The bed that his younger brother was supposed to be asleep in.

He hastily retreated from the room, sliding the door shut with more force than was necessary.

“Byakuya,” the unexpected sound of a voice had him startling like never before. His eyes snapped to meet the aged face of his grandfather, “what are you doing here?”

“Grandfather, I-,” Byakuya paused, his eyes trailing down to the sword on his grandfathers hip, his Zanpakuto. The feeling of dread worsened.

“It does not matter, grab your brother and return to your room,” his grandfather said turning, “there are intruders.”

Those words had Byakuya's inside freezing. His hands a tightening and loosening fist at his sides. Glancing back up to his grandfather, who had already moved a few feet ahead of him. Byakuya takes in a shaky breath, and the words are out if his mouth without much thought, other than that his grandfather needs to know.

“Yuu's not in his room,” the words aren't loud, barely above a whisper, and for a moment he thinks Ginrei didn't hear him. But he stops mid-step, the hand gripping his zanpakuto tightens and he turns to face Byakuya once more.

“Yuu's not in his room, I came to check on him, but he wasn't here,” Byakuya explains, voice louder than it was the first time, and if his voice cracks just the slightest, his grandfather doesn't seem to take notice.

The sound of fast approaching footsteps has both Kuchiki's attention snapping to the figure running towards them.

“Kuchiki-taichou!” The man comes to a stop only a few feet in front of his grandfather. He's pale and his hands are trembling slightly as bends into a bow, “there are an unknown number of intruders in the manor, sir!”

“I am aware,” his grandfather states, his eyes narrowing, “but at the moment it would seem my youngest grandson is wandering the manor, find him before the intruders do, he is our priority,” his voice is hard, cold, and leaves no room for argument or protest.

“Sir-,” the man doesn't raise his head, his voice wavers, and his whole body goes tense. That is what gives it away to Byakuya, this man is the bearer of bad news. “We-, they-, the intruders have him! He was in the gard-.”

Those were possibly the worst words Byakuya has ever heard before. He's rushing forward and past his grandfather without another thought, ignoring his Grandfather's call. He's pushing his way through the throng of retainers, and shinigami alike running around in search of the intruders. He doesn't stop until he reaches the garden. It's empty. He feels his heart giveaway at the sight.

He's not sure what he was hoping to find.

X_x-x-x-x-x_X

It's not until the sun is rising that his grandfather takes a seat next to him. He doesn't say anything, just takes a seat, but it's not like he needs to. The fact that he is alone and not being followed by a petulant child is more than enough for Byakuya to know that they did not find Yuu, or the intruders.

His hands clench tightly beside him, his nails cutting into the palm of his hand. He let his head drop, his loose hair falling forward in strands of inky black. He clenches his teeth as he feels the burn of tears that threatened to fall. He clenched his teeth tighter, he couldn't cry, he would never live it down with Yuu. It was that thought that startled him enough to let the first few drops fall.

Yuu wasn't there anymore. He wouldn't see his older brother cry. He wasn't going to be around to glare at Ukitake when the man treated him like the child he was, or laugh and mock Byakuya, when Shihoin managed to one up him. He was gone and Byakuya had no idea if they would find him.

“We'll find him right?” The words are nothing more than a whisper. His words are met with silence, and Byakuya thinks maybe he wasn't heard, but can't bring himself to ask again.

He understands. His grandfather doesn't know.


	2. Chapter 2

For the longest time he was surrounded by an eerie darkness. It was cold and stifling and he had hated every second of it. The only form of comfort he received in the oppressing darkness was the soft voice that whispered soothing words.

'It’s all right, Yuu.'

'I will keep you safe.'

Those words had always filled him with warmth, warmth that would last for a few minutes, hours, or sometimes even days. No matter how long the comforting warmth remained, it would eventually be snuffed out by the suffocating darkness that he was always surrounded by and then he would be alone in the cold darkness, until the soothing voice returned with more words of comfort. It was like that for days, months, years, he wasn’t sure.

At least until one day there was a spark of light above him and what sounded like a happy gasp. And then he had strength to pull himself out of the suffocating darkness, into a dimly lit room, where he came face to face with another person who wore an idiotic smile and who cried because he was happy he wasn’t alone anymore.

“They call you Yuu Kanda, I’m Alma,” he had grinned, his smile wide. Yuu had stared on in bewilderment. 

“Yuu Kanda,” He echoed. The name had felt strange on his tongue, as if those two words had no right to join together to create his name. That name didn't feel right, almost as if that wasn't his name.

'Not Kanda, K-----!'

The words came out as a hiss, as if the owner of the voice had been personally insulted. It gave him pause, because never in his time in the oppressing darkness had the voice ever sounded so angry.

'Do not listen to them Yuu! Your name is not Kanda it is K------!'

The words, that were clear as if the unknown speaker were standing only a foot away, trailed off, turning into a loud buzzing inside his head, and he flinched away as if hit.

“Yuu?” Alma questioned staring at him curious for only a moment before the sound of approaching footsteps echoed across the cold room. A tall blonde man with a kind smile on his face quickly ushered him out.

Strangers quickly surrounded him, each wearing an excited grin on their face. The once soothing and comforting voice hissed in anger, making it’s anger obvious to no one but himself.

\--------

The first time Rukia had heard of the missing Kuchiki was just a short time after Ichigo and his friends had invaded Soul Society to rescue her. It had been after her friends had returned to the human world. Her Brother had shown her to a bare room, where a framed photo was placed, a picture of her sister, Hisana.

It was while she was admiring the woman who her brother had fallen for that she saw the second picture frame hidden just behind the one of Hisana. The frame of the photo was much more worn than the one of Hisana, older. It was pushed back out of sight, as if one couldn't stand to look at it, but unable to be rid of it either.

Her attention had been drawn to the older photo, with only slight hesitation she reached for it. Byakuya, who had remained at the door, tensed but made no move to stop her. Taking it as permission, she pulled the photo from its hiding spot. It was of a young child wearing a petulant scowl, and dark strands of hair framing his face.

“Nii-sama, who is this?” Rukia had asked. She turned to face her brother. His face was blank, showing no sign of how he felt about the photo in her hands. He did and said nothing, and Rukia began to regret having asked. Her brother turned away from her, his face still blank and hard to read as always.

It was as he was sliding the door closed behind him that he answered her question with nothing more than two words as if that explained everything.

“Kuchiki, Yuu.”

And maybe to her brother it did.

Kuchiki Yuu.

Her attention slid back over to the photo in her arms. Her eyes gaining a curious glint in them. She knew the name of the person in the framed photo, but that did not tell her who he was. She stood there for only a few more minutes before setting the picture down next to the one of Hisana, and quietly left the room, the click of the door the only sound in the otherwise quiet room.

Thoughts of the unknown Kuchiki leaving her mind.

\-------

“Hey Nii-san, is it true you can hear your Zanpakuto?” His voice was soft, and filled with childish curiosity, his attention solely on the figure standing only a few feet away, his brother stood tall and proud even when tiring and covered in sweat.

“Hm? How did you know, Yuu?” His brother paused mid swing, his attention drifting over to him. Yuu gave a shrug of his shoulders.

“I overheard grandfather and father talking about it.” The corner of his brother’s mouth rose briefly, before it vanished.

“Overheard? Or eavesdropping?” Yuu gave a shrug of his shoulders, head turned away from his older brother as he felt his face turn red at being found out so easily.

“Overheard,” he stated, sending a glare at his brother, daring him to contradict him. His brother gave him an unimpressed look.

“Yuu, you already kn-.“

\-----

 

Yuu opened his eyes to the sight of his white ceiling hanging above him, and to the pain of a pounding headache. The sunlight streaming into his bedroom through the small gap of his curtains being the only sign that it was time to get out of bed.

He lay unmoving for a long while letting the pain in his head recede to a dull ache. He closed his eyes, trying to recall the dream that had left him with nothing more than a headache, and only letting out an irritated sigh when all he could recall were blurry images and muffled words. The dream faded away like it always did, leaving nothing more than a few decipherable words, and a terrible migraine.

It was something he had grown used to, and something that was beginning to happen more often, waking to a terrible pounding in his head, and unable to recall what it was he had dreamed of. Hell, if it wasn’t for the terrible headache and the feeling of loss that filled him every time he woke he wouldn't give the dreams a second thought.

He let his eyes drift to the small table stand by his bed, catching the bright red numbers blinking at him. He stared at the clock for another moment before he realized that the contraption was letting out a shrill ringing that echoed in the otherwise silent room. Yuu let out an irritated huff before silencing the ringing clock.

He pushed himself up until he was sitting on the bed, brushing any stray strands of long dark hair back where the majority of it lay. Running a hand down his face, he silently took in the familiar surroundings of his apartment, before pushing himself off and away from the mattress.

He made his way to the closet, pulling out a black long sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants. He changed quickly before finding socks and shoes and slipping them on as well. He moved to the small table beside his bed, and grabbed a red hair tie, before gathering the loose strands of hair into a high ponytail.

Yuu strode to the apartment door, only stopping to grab his wallet and room keys, before stepping outside, closing and locking the door behind him. He had only just raised his head before a glare and a scowl took over his expression. There across from his apartment stood one of his brown haired neighbors.

“Yo, Kanda-kun!”

“No,” Yuu stated, turning away from his unwanted visitor and continuing his way to the stairs that would lead to the ground floor of the apartment complex.

The brown haired teenager spluttered indignantly, before he gathered himself and followed after the older male.

“Oh come on! You don't even know what I was going to say!”

“I don't care,” Yuu quickened his pace, “Go away.”

The younger male ignored his rude comments with practiced ease and instead stated, “mom wants you to come over for dinner tonight.”

Yuu let out an annoyed sigh at the statement. Kimura Kaito and Ayame were a single mother and her son living two doors down from Yuu's own apartment. They were quiet and usually kept to themselves, not disturbing any of their neighbors. With Yuu being the obvious exception.

Yuu had met the mother, Kimura Ayame, only a few days after he had moved into the complex, She had been generous and welcoming, until she had learned Yuu was living on his own and decided that he was incapable of caring for himself (it didn't help that she had somehow learned that he had a tendency to only eat Soba.) Often inviting him for dinner or sending over leftovers of that night's dinner.

“I have work,” Yuu stated. Kimura stared incredulously.

“You work in a bookshop!” Kimura protested, “you can't possibly be working all day!”

Yuu came to a stop, turning on his heel to face the brunet, a glare already in place. Kimura stopping only a few feet away.

“Shouldn't you be on your way to school?” Yuu questioned ,“not following me around?”

Kimura gave a sheepish shrug of his shoulders. Yuu's scowl deepened, he gave a jerk of his head, silently commanding the younger male on his way. Kimura gave a pitiful attempt at a pout before taking a step back and away from the older male. Yuu wasted no more time before turning on his heel and continuing his way to the small bookshop where he worked.

“Mom will be expecting you tonight!” Kimura exclaimed, his voice unnecessarily loud in the quiet street. Yuu tensed in annoyance, turning slightly to yell back.

“I have work!” He snapped, quickly making his escape before the younger of the two could say anything else.

\----------->

Rukia felt herself frown as she scanned the surrounding area. Taking in the varies buildings, and the morning rush of people moving to get to where they needed to be. The frown on her face deepened. It had twenty four hours.

Twenty four hours since she had been sent to the human world on her assignment.

Chouza Ibiki, the representative in charge of the current area had yet to report in, and while a late check in was not uncommon with Chouza, the matter was that it had been a week since he last reported to their captain. Chouza was never more then a day late. Captain Ukitake had grown concerned as the days added up, and at the week mark had requested Rukia to look into the situation. It had been twenty four hours and still she had yet to see any sign of the lower ranked Shinigami.

There had been no increase in Hollows in the area or anything else that could be labeled as strange. Well, something other than a Shinigami mysteriously going missing.

She let a sigh escape as the Hell butterfly floating around her left with a final flutter of it's wings.

Without another glance at the disappearing winged messenger, Rukia took off at a lazy shunpo, intent on making a final round of the area before finally returning to Seireitei. It was as she was making her way over another empty street that something drew her attention and she paused.

“Mom will be expecting you tonight!”

The words were loud in the otherwise quiet street, catching her attention easily. She came to a stop on nearby rooftop, head turning in the direction the voice had come from. The street was mostly empty with the exception of the two males having a conversation between themselves. A brown haired boy of average height dressed in some sort of school uniform, and a dark long haired man in black. The dark haired male turned, his head angled in a way that allowed Rukia to catch sight of the taller mans face, and felt herself tense.

The dark hair framing his face was oddly familiar, as was the scowl he wore when he snapped something back that she did not catch. Rukia stood still, watching as the younger of the two gave a shrug of his shoulders before waving at the frowning dark haired males back. She only hesitated slightly, she had a job to do, she reminded herself, before following after the dark haired male at a safe distance.

\-----

Rukia followed him street for street, never losing sight of him. She continued to follow until he arrived at the shopping center and entered a decent sized building. The clear glass windows that lined the front wall revealed the rows of bookshelves that filled the inside. There were signs and posters promoting a new book soon to be released, standing just beside the shops entrance.

She went in after him, glancing around as she followed after the taller male, keeping a small distance between her and the dark haired male. With the exception of a few workers the bookstore was otherwise empty. He made his way further into the bookshop, before disappearing behind a door that read 'Employees Only.' It made Rukia pause for a moment.

The door opened once more, and the male she had been following stepped out. A white collared shirt pulled over his previous black one, a name tag clipped on the left side of his chest read 'Kanda Yuu.' That more than anything else caught Rukia's attention, and she found herself staring at the name. She pulled her attention away from the black print on the tag, to the owner of said name, and immediately froze when she met the dark eyes of the man she had been following.

He was looking at her, meeting her eyes. And Rukia found herself at a loss. This had only happened one other time and that had been with Ichigo, and even then her friend had been brash and rude and had wasted no time on calling her out on it. This man said and did nothing. His face revealing nothing. She raised her hand. Her lips parting to say something.

“Kanda-Kun you're here!” The voice came from her right, and Kanda's attention shifted from her to the new arrival. A pretty red haired girl with a happy expression on her face. “What are you doing just standing there?” She inquired as she came to a stop in front of Kanda and just a bit away from Rukia.

Kanda's expression went from blank to bored, as he turned his attention back to Rukia. “That,” he said waving his hand in Rukia's direction. The red head turned in Rukia's direction, her eyes looking past the dark haired girl, a curious look on her face and gave a sigh.

“Oh, Kanda-kun, staring at it isn't going to fix it,” She stated. Rukia turned following the red haired girls movements as she made her way over to where a pile of books had fallen over just behind her. Her eyes quickly darted back to Kanda, confusion overtaking her face. Kanda gave an uncaring shrug at the other girls words, before turning and walking past his fellow employee and the shinigami. Not once glancing in Rukia's direction again.

Rukia stood there watching as the man disappeared behind a row of bookshelves. Her eyes narrowing in both confusion and suspicion.

\------


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rukia goes to someone who can possibly provide her with answers, and recruits someone who knows the human world better than she does.

* * *

  
It was not long after that people began to slowly trickle into the shop, in search of a needed book. Rukia left the building not long after, taking a position just outside the shop. She couldn't see much of the happenings inside where she stood, but after the incident that had occurred she felt safer at a distance.  
  
  
A distance from where she could observe and, on the odd chance that the taller male could really see her as she suspected, he would not be able to catch sight of her so easily. She kept her attention on the building,  focused on the presence of the dark haired male and there was another thing, Kanda's presence was something that she could barely feel. As if he were trying to hide his presence but not quite being able to fully manage it. It was a curious thing.

   
The soft fluttering of wings quickly drew her attention away from the building and to the hell butterfly that floated only inches away from her. She extended her right hand, allowing the small creature to land gently, ready to pass on the message it had been entrusted with.

   
She hummed softly as the small messenger took flight again. She gripped her zanpakutou, as she turned, casting a last inquisitive glance back at the bookstore. Kanda stood before a bookshelf that was placed behind the large glass window, a small pile of books in hand, his face blank of any emotion as he shoved the hard covered books into the shelf none too gently.

  
 He turned as the last book was put in it's rightful place, his head turning in the direction she stood, and for a moment Rukia thought he would once again meet her eyes and confirm her suspicions, but his eyes looked past her, as if he had no idea she stood right before him only a few feet of space between them.

  
 Rukia found herself doubting the other had ever seen her for just a second before it was quickly destroyed and buried. There was something about this man that had an itch growing in the back of her head. Her mind telling her that this man was familiar in the vaguest sense of the word and she needed to know who exactly he was.

   
And she would, but first she had a job to do. With that thought she turned fully away from the building and took off at a slow shunpo, heading away from the bookshop.

 

* * *

 

"I see, there was no sign of him," Ukitake said as he let out a sigh, his hands folding over the small stack of papers that lay before him. Rukia gave a soft shake of her head.

  
"No sir."  
  
As soon as Rukia had stepped foot into Seireitei she had wasted no time before she made her way to the thirteenth division. Her captain had been in the office, it being one of the few days where Ukitake-taichou had been feeling well enough to not have to lay in bed ill.  
  
  
“This is not looking well,” Ukitake gave a sad smile, his attention turning to the stack of papers that lay in front of him. Rukia followed his gaze to the papers, and felt her mouth twitch in a frown when she realized what they were, Chouza’s last report before he had gone missing. Noticing her stare Ukitake-taichou gave a sigh, before setting them aside,  “we can only assume that the worst has happened, but we shall continue to look into it.”  
  
  
“But that issue aside for now, is something bothering you Rukia?” He asked his attention focused on his lieutenant. Rukia stared back startled at the question.  
  
  
“Eh? Ah, no, nothing,”  Rukia got out, her voice revealing some of her confusion. Ukitake offered her a gentle smile, but remained silent, allowing Rukia the option to tell him or not. Rukia hesitated for only a short moment before her hands dropped to her side, and her face took on a bemused expression.  
  
  
"While I was in the human world I saw someone there that struck me as familiar," Rukia confided. Ukitake's smile took on a bemused tilt.  
  
  
"Familiar?"  
  
  
"Yes, Like I had seen him before, but I am certain I have never met him before and.."  
  
  
"Yes?" Ukitake gently urged.  
  
  
"I believe he caught sight of me."  
  
  
A pensive frown replaced the small smile that had been on his face, but Ukitake said nothing else. Rukia hesitated, her fists clenching briefly, before they unclenched.  
  
  
"Excuse my rudeness taichou, but I would like to request another assignment to the human world Ukitake-taichou," she requested, bending forward in a bow.  
  
  
Her request was met with silence, but she made no move to unbend from her bow. She knew what she was asking, and her captain had every right to deny her request. It was a selfish request, she knew that, but there was something nagging at her in the back of her head telling her she knew who the male she had seen was. And she needed to find out. She could feel her captain's eyes on her, watching her with, no doubt, confusion.  

  
There was the sound of shuffling and what sounded like a drawer being opened and closed again but she kept her head down until there was the sound of a soft cough; Rukia's head snapped up, her attention immediately on her captain.

   
Ukitake gave her a gentle smile as he slid an official looking scroll across the desk in her direction. Rukia dragged her eyes from the scroll and to her Captain. An excitement growing in her before she stomped it down. She moved forward, accepting the scroll.

   
"It is a simple assignment," her captain explained, "it should not cause you much trouble."

  
Rukia blinks down at her new assignment, it’s a simple enough hollow extermination her hands tightening around the scroll in her hands. She gives her captain a final smile, before excusing herself.

   
“Please be careful Rukia,” the words make her pause, before she turns to face her captain once more. The kind smile that usually graces her captain's face has taken on a worried tilt, that makes Rukia only slightly regret asking her captain to allow her to return to the human world to investigate something unknown.

   
“Of course, Ukitake-taichou,” she says with a soft smile and gives a final bow, before sliding the door closed behind her.

 

* * *

 

The Hollows she’d been sent to dispatch had already been dealt with when she arrives, but Rukia isn't even surprised, not with Ichigo running around again, shinigami powers restored.

   
It’s three days after her talk with Ukitake-taichou that She arrives back in the human world with no problem, a determination that takes even her by surprise.

  
It had come when she returned to the Kuchiki manor to inform her brother that she would be going to the human world for a few days. She had found him leaving the room she had not entered since the day she it had been shown to her. It was as the door had been sliding shut, that she caught sight of the framed photo that sat next to the one of Hisana.

   
Kuchiki, Yuu.

   
The similarities between both Yuu's was uncanny. One features aged, and the other forever frozen in its childish youth.  It was a startling realization, and not for the first time Rukia wondered what exactly happened to the youngest male Kuchiki.

   
She could not bring herself to ask her brother, she had the distinct feeling that she would not get much of an answer from him.  So the question was, if not her brother, then who could possibly give her the answers she wanted? Kuchiki Yuu was before she became a part of the Kuchiki family, and perhaps even Hisana.

   
Her Captain perhaps, or even Kyoraku-taichou. They have both been around the longest, but to speak with either she would need to return to Seireitei. Something she was incapable of doing at the moment, not if she wanted to continue this investigation she had started.

   
There was only one person currently in the living world she could possibly ask, but the thought of having to ask that person irritates her.  A frown stretches across her face, but she takes off at a quick shunpo. Mentally preparing herself to put up with the irritating man.

 

* * *

 

Urahara's shop was the same as it has always been. Ururu and Jinta are out in the front having a heated conversation, brooms in hand, an obvious sign of what the they should be doing, but were not. The argument died down as she approached. Both watching her with a curious tilt of their heads.

   
"The shopkeeper is inside," Ururu said, voice soft as she stepped aside, allowing the female lieutenant to make her way into the shop. Urahara was already waiting inside, his paper fan not enough to cover his grin as he greeted Rukia.

   
"Ah, Kuchiki-san! What a surprise!" The older man waved his fan in faux surprise, "it's certainly been awhile!"

   
"Urahara," Rukia greeted in return her expression blank. She had two ways she could go about trying to get the answers she was hoping for, she could ask the shopkeeper pointblank or she could wait for the opportune moment to ask.

   
"What can I help you with today, Kuchiki-san?" There was a pause before Rukia gave a mental shrug.

   
"I wanted to ask you about Kuchiki, Yuu," she stated, her attention focused on the blonde shopkeeper. Urahara paused, his fan lowering to reveal his shadowed face.

   
"Oh?" Urahara let out, before once more raising the fan and letting out a cheery laugh "Well this is a surprise! Whatever brought this about, Kuchiki-san?"

   
A frown took over Rukia's features. The shinigami crossed her arms over her chest, "do you know anything about him?" She questioned, ignoring the shopkeepers own question.

   
"My, my, Kuchiki-san, you can't take without giving something in return!" The blonde said, his voice full of cheer as he waved his fan happily. Rukia's frown took on an irritated tilt and she released a huff.

   
"I'll figure this out, with or without your help," Rukia declared, turning on her heals and making her way towards the shop’s exit.

   
"Kuchiki, Yuu; created quite the scandal some time ago."

   
The words drew Rukia to a stop. She turned until she had the blonde shopkeeper in her sight once more. He flipped his fan closed with a gentle flick of his hand, his usual cheery smile replaced with a thoughtful tilt of the lips.

   
"Scandal?"Rukia repeated, stepping away from the shop's entrance and closer to the shop owner.

   
"Oh yes, quite the scandal," Urahara repeated, flicking the fan open once more, "why don't we take this conversation further inside?" Rukia scowled at the suggestion and silently berated herself. She had been taken in by the blondes words and knew she would not be able to walk away now. Not when she now knew the older male had information she wanted.

   
She gave a silent sigh, but followed Urahara when he gestured for her to follow into the back room, they took a seat at the kotatsu that was placed in the middle of the room opposite each other. Silence descended upon them as both occupants waited for the other to speak first.

   
“How about some tea?” Urahara asked snapping his fan closed and setting it down on the table. As if waiting for his cue, the door to the room slid open once more, revealing the large figure of Tessai. In his hands was a round tray with two cups of tea. Tessai didn't wait for Rukia to answer, merely setting the cup on the table before her.  
  
  
"Now why don't you start Kuchiki-san?" Urahara suggested, his hand curling around the cup that was placed in front of him.  Tessai set the tray down and took a seat to the left of Urahara. Rukia let out an irritated huff when both men only continued to stare in silence.  She gives a sigh in resignation before she finally speaks her suspicions.

   
"I don't think Kuchiki Yuu is as dead as everyone thinks he is."

 

°

  
Rukia's explanation is met with silence, Urahara eyes her carefully,  a pensive frown tugging at the corner of the blondes mouth. His attention is focused on Rukia. His hand twitched toward the fan that lay on the table closed, but doesn't grab it. Rukia feels a twinge of irritation.

   
"Well?" She demands, "I told you what you wanted to know, now tell me about Kuchiki Yuu," her words are met with more silence, before Urahara finally picks up the fan and flicks it open.

   
"Kuchiki Yuu was the youngest son of Kuchiki Sojun," Urahara begins and Rukia's irritation melts away in the face of finally getting the answers she wants, "and the younger brother of Kuchiki-taichou."

   
“What happened to him?” Rukia questions, her attention focused solely on the blonde.

   
“Someone managed to break into Kuchiki Manor and stole him from right under Ginrei-sans nose,” Urahara responds, his lip quirks up as if he wants to find the situation amusing somehow, but can’t seem to manage it.  Rukia frowns at the action, but remains silent. If there was one thing Rukia has come to know since her adoption into the Kuchiki family; is that Kuchiki’s are prideful, and to have have someone break into the manor in the dead of the night and kidnap the youngest son, well, that must have been a huge blow to the noble family’s ego.

   
"Of course, being of a noble family a search was immediately assembled, and the sixth division lead it,"  he explains, “though in the end it didn’t seem to matter, the closest they ever seemed to get was learning the name of the men who took the youngest Kuchiki.”

   
“And they didn’t reveal anything?” Rukia questions, disbelief clear in her voice. Urahara raises the fan and covers the lower half of his face.

   
“No, they were never found,” the fan is flicked closed and open, “with the disappearance of Kuchiki Yuu, came the disappearance of his kidnappers.”

   
Rukia says nothing, because those people who had taken the, then youngest Kuchiki, had not been arrogant enough to think they could continue on with their usual lives after taking a noble family’s child. They had done their job and with it finished, had gone into hiding. The question though was, with a large search going on for the Kuchiki child, where exactly had they hidden? How had they managed to elude so many people searching for them? Soul Society was large, 320 districts divided evenly in the North, West, South, and East, and then also the Seireitei. They could have hidden anywhere really, but even after the identities of the men had been revealed, how had they remained hidden? Surely someone in Rukongai would have said something, with so many Shinigami running around? Unless-”

   
“Of course, the search had to be brought to an end eventually,” the shop owners words snap Rukia out of her thoughts, attention back on the the scientist, “officially at least,” he adds.

   
“The search didn’t really end?” Rukia is not at all surprised by this information, in fact she would probably be more surprised if it had.

   
“No, lieutenant Kuchiki continued a search, with Ginrei-san’s permission of course,” Urahara explains, “it didn’t officially end until Lieutenant Kuchiki’s death.”

   
“Lieutenant Kuchiki?” Rukia repeats, curious and confused for only a brief moment before it finally clicks, “Nii-sama’s father?”

   
“Yes, yes,” Urahara waves his hand in her direction and gives her a stare, as if silently questioning her who else it could it possibly be. “He divided his time between searching for his youngest and completing his duties as lieutenant and his health deteriorated.”

   
“He passed away,” Rukia concluded sadly. She averted her eyes from the shop owner to the cold cup of tea that sat before her. A tanned hand wrapped around the cup and exchanged it with a new, hot cup of tea. Her eyes snapped up and was met with the sight of Tessai giving her a thumbs up as he set the cold cup aside. “Ah, t-thank you,” she had completely forgotten that he was in the room as well.

   
“That’s right, and that’s when Ginrei-san put a complete end to the search and Kuchiki Yuu was labeled as ‘deceased.’” Urahara concluded, he raised the newly warmed cup of tea to his mouth and took a sip.

   
There was silence as Rukia let everything she had learned sink in. It saddened her to know that her older brother had another young sibling before her, one he had lost long ago. The sound of a cup being set on the kotatsu was oddly loud in the otherwise silent room. Glancing up Rukia met the shop owners eyes, his expression serious as he stared at the Shinigami.

   
“What?” She questioned, unnerved by the rarely serious man.

   
“You say you think that Kuchiki Yuu is alive,” Urahara started tilting his downward so his hat cast an ominous shadow over his face, he kept his eyes firmly locked with Rukia’s own. “This isn’t something you can go and tell people, especially not those living in Soul Society.”

   
“I know that!” Rukia scowled at the man’s words. She had no intention of telling anyone of her suspicions, she had no intention of telling Urahara, especially Urahara, but she really had no choice, if she had wanted actual answers from the scientist. “I have every intention of looking into this more before even considering telling anyone, let alone Nii-sama.”

   
“Oh?” Urahara seemed amused, “and what does Ukitake-taichou think you're doing down here?” Rukia’s scowl deepened at the man’s words.

   
“I have permission from Ukitake-taichou to be here,” she stated, “I’m on assignment.”

   
“Oh? Is that so?”

   
Rukia said nothing at the scientist’s words, merely standing from her seated position. She adjusted Sode no Shirayuki into a more comfortable position, “I’ll be taking my leave now.” She announced, before turning away from the man and walking out the door. Ururu and Jinta were still out in front of the shop, and the younger girl gave a slight bow to the older woman. Rukia smiled back before taking off in a slow paced shunpo.

   
Rukia needed a plan and a place to sort things out without the scientist hovering over her, sticking his nose into anymore of her business.

   
She felt a spike of reiatsu, that had Rukia pausing mid step, it was a hollow she realized. It was only there for a brief moment before it was gone. A smile formed on her face, of course, she didn't even really have to think this through, did she? She took to the air again, at a faster pace. If she hurried she could beat her friend back home.

   
It would be kind of like old times, she grinned.    

 

* * *

 

"You sure took your time Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed which startled Ichigo enough for his foot to slip from the window ledge and collide with the leg of his body.

   
"What the hell, Rukia!?" Ichigo shouted, taking in the shorter shinigami standing across from him, arms crossed. He let out a huff and continued pulling himself through his bedroom window, and back into his body.

   
"What are you doing here?" He asked as he sat up in bed, stretching and checking his own movements, making sure everything was fine and in order now that he was back in his body. There was a soft bruise forming from where he accidentally kicked himself earlier, but other than that, everything was fine.

   
Rukia watched everything in silence, arms still crossed, "hmph. I have come to recruit you, Ichigo!" She stated, before glancing away towards the clock that lay on Ichigo's desk.

   
"Recruit?" Ichigo repeated, for once fully taking his friend in, she wasn't in the usual shinigami uniform, but in fact dressed in one of Yuzu's dresses, "why are you dressed like that?"  
  
  
"No time to explain!" Rukia exclaimed, she lunged at Ichigo, taking a hold of his hand, she dragged him from his seated position on the bed.

   
"O-oi!" Ichigo protested, Rukia ignored him pushing him towards his bedroom door, "what the hell Rukia!?"

   
"I'll explain on the way!” She stated as she pulled the door open, and pushed the orange teen through it. Ichigo stumbled, barely catching himself from landing on the ground in an undignified pile of limbs. Rukia barely gave him a passing glance as she made her way down to the house’s entrance.

   
“Where the hell are we even going?” ichigo questioned, quickly righting himself and following after his friend. Rukia paused at the top of stairs that would lead her down to the lower floor of the house.

   
“A bookshop,” she stated, a small grin on her face, Ichigo blinked in confusion. They were going to bookshop?

   
“Why are we going to a bookshop?” Rukia said nothing and continued her way down the stairs, “Rukia? Rukia! Wait, damn it!”

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you serious right now?" was the only thing Ichigo could bring himself to say as Rukia words trailed off. What the hell was he even supposed to say to that kind of explanation anyway? “Byakuya had a younger brother?” Rukia lets out an irritated sigh, her head falling into her hand, a sign of her annoyance.

“Yes Ichigo. I just finished explaining it you!” Rukia exclaimed. “Why is it so hard for you to accept this?” Ichigo raised his hand, scratching the back his head in befuddlement.

“Well, it’s just that he had a younger brother before you,” Ichigo started his voice sober and serious. Rukia’s ire quickly died away as her friend continued. “and he was still willing to let you-”

His voice trailed off. He never really liked bringing Rukia’s execution up, it always left a bad taste behind. Especially considering that the older Kuchiki was a lot better now, and he would never actually let Rukia’s life to be in danger, not anymore. It was just the thought that Byakuya had a younger brother go missing, he had lost him as far as he was concerned, and that he had just sat back and let the execution continue, as if it hadn’t mattered if he lost another younger sibling.

Rukia let out a sigh, already knowing what Ichigo was referring to.

“It’s fine.” She said, crossing her arms. “We’re past that aren’t we?”

“It’s not fine.” Ichigo muttered, but let the matter drop. They were here for a completely different reason anyway. He turned away from Rukia to take in the small bookshop before them. It was decently sized, with large glass windows that allowed people walking by to peer inside without actually having to walk in. From what he could see of where he and Rukia stood there weren’t too many people inside. “So what exactly is the plan here?”

“We’re going inside to speak to him directly.” Rukia said. Her tone calm, her attention focused on the building before her.

“You’re not actually serious right?” Ichigo questioned, turning back to face his friend. “Thats a terrible idea!”

“Why?” Rukia barely even glanced at him, as she spoke “It’s a bookstore, people go in all the time.” She stated with a wave of her hand, before moving forward, toward the bookstore.

“RUKIA!” Ichigo hissed out. Rukia ignored him and continued onwards. Ichigo let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, before following after the shorter of the two. When had he become the voice of reason in these situations?

When Rukia had come to his house, going on about recruiting him for an investigation, he had honestly not expected to be investigating the issue of Byakuya’s younger brother actually possibly being alive, or finding out that the older male even had a younger sibling besides Rukia to begin with. A brother being found, after being missing for over a century, wasn’t this situation just fucked.

* * *

  
Yuu could honestly say that today had been an actual good day for him so far. The bookstore he worked in wasn’t busy, barely any customers at all really.

The headache he had woken up to that morning had subsided quickly, and it had barely been noticeable at all to begin with. He didn’t know if it was because he had grown so accustomed to them that they just didn’t bother him anymore, or if the pain in his skull had just not actually been that bad that morning.

“Kanda-kun!”

The sound of an awfully cheerful person always seemed to put him in a sour mood though. It could always ruin the rest of a day for him. Akane was the store manager, and Yuu would swear that she had it out for him, only ever showing up when he was scheduled to work. She had a tendency to pop out of no where, laughing and smiling and cracking some stupid joke about one thing or another, rarely taking a single damn thing serious.

Yuu hated her.

Not because she was always so happy, or always causing problems for him. But because of that damn crimson red hair she always had tied up with a green and black hair tie.

He hated it because he would see a flash of the uniquely colored crimson hair and he couldn’t help but remember the stupid rabbit that was always too damn happy for his own good. Could not help but expect him to come running yelling Yuu’s name at the top of his lungs, that stupid grin on his face. The way he would never take any of his threats seriously, no matter how actually serious he was.

And then he would remember that him and his stupid antics weren’t around anymore, and Yuu was left feeling bitter, and angry, so very very angry, because things were not supposed to turn out this way, never this way.

“Kanda-kun!” his eyes snapped up to the girl standing before him. She had a look on her face, like she knew Yuu had seen someone else in her for a brief moment, like she understood and wasn’t all upset by it. It pissed Yuu off.

“What?” he snapped, an angry scowl on his face. Akane just shook her head, before pointing behind her.

“I’m leaving,” she said “Yachi, will be here in an hour, so until then you're on your own.” she walked past him, and headed off towards the break room to collect her things. He paid her no more attention and made his way to the front, where the checkout area was, his mood ruined. He collapsed into the stool that sat behind the register. He placed his head down against the cool material of the table and let his eyes slide shut, barely paying any attention to Akane as she left.

* * *

 

_“If you continue looking like that your face will get stuck.” The words were said with humor. Yuu didn’t even turn to acknowledge the one who spoke. It didn’t seem to bother the owner of the voice if the laugh they let out was any indication. “Come now, what will pouting get you?”_

_“Why can’t I go as well Father!” the words were dangerously close to being a whine, as the small child turned to face the older man. The man laughed._

_“You will get your chance as well, don’t worry Yuu.” The man smiled, not at all bothered by the scowl he got in return from the child. Something he obviously had grown used to._

_“I know, but I wanted to go with nii-san.” Yuu muttered, a pout already on his face as he turned away from his father._

_“Well I’m sure Bya--”_

* * *

 

Kanda’s head snapped up, eyes wide, as he took in the familiar surroundings of the book store. His hands curled into a fist, his eyes clenched shut as the expected headache came through, a loud ringing in his ears. He pushed himself away from the register, stumbling as his feet hit the ground.

Damn it

He opened his eyes to a beautiful garden of Lotus flowers, he stood at the edge where land met the pond. He whirled around taking in the unfamiliar scenery. Confusion clear on his face. The sight of a figure resting peacefully only a small distance away from himself, gave him pause.

“Oi!” He called out.

The figure looked up, and gave Yuu a radiant smile, as if she was actually happy to see him. She stood from her seated position, quickly making her way over to him only stopping when she reached the edge of the piece of land she had been resting on. The only thing between them was the large body of water full of Lotus flowers. She was a slender woman, dressed in crimson and black from head to toe, her hair a dark black, fluttered behind her.

_“Yuu!”_ She sounded so happy and relieved, but Yuu could only stare in confusion, no one had been happy to see him in so long. The woman gave him a sad smile, as if knowing what he was thinking. She made no attempt to move closer, remaining where she was. _“It’s me -----”_

The words she said were muffled, nothing but a faint whisper not heard over the gentle breeze rustling the Lotus flowers. The woman’s lips parted, mouthing words that Yuu could not comprehend. The woman seemed to understand, as the happy expression she had dimmed. She gave him a sad smile.

_“You can’t hear me yet.”_ The words were said as a fact, the sad smile turned gentle, any sadness melting away _“You’ll remember eventually, You already are after all, you just need a push.”_

“Remember what?” Yuu demanded, stepping forward. There was a splash as he entered the murky water of the pond. His shoes immediately overtaken by the water, but Yuu didn’t care. This woman knew something, knew what was happening to him, knew what the hell all these dreams were about.

_“Everything.”_ She smiled, with a shrug of her shoulders. _“I’ve waited so many years for us to be together again, I can wait a bit more.”_

“What are you talking about?” Yuu questioned. Making a move towards the woman. She shook her head, smile still there, but a look of anticipation joining. Yuu let out a growl of frustration, The woman turned away making to return to where she had been seated before Yuu had made his appearance. She paused in her movements, and when she spoke her voice was quiet, but Yuu heard it just fine.

_“Just do not take to long.”_

* * *

 

And then Yuu was opening his eyes once more to the ceiling of the bookstore he currently resided in, flat on his back. He brought his hand up to run pale fingers through long tresses of black hair. There was a painful throbbing in his head, but unlike the headache that he always got after the confusing dreams, the pain emerged from a single point on the left side of his head. He must have hit his head on the way down.

Yuu placed an elbow below him, pushing himself up slightly, and winced. The movement worsening the already painful headache. Ignoring the sharp pain that shot through his skull Yuu pushed himself up until he was standing.

Leaning against the desk the register was placed on, he took in the empty bookstore, and then glanced down at the green lit numbers on the screen of the register, absently wondering how long he had been out. He blinked in muted surprise, barely any time had passed since Akane had taken her leave. He let himself fall back into the stool, the silence of the shop deafening.

The pain in his head slowly fading away to nothing more than a mere annoyance that could be easily ignored.

It was strange and out of the normal, he had never gotten a single dream while he was not fully asleep. They had only ever happened when he was fully asleep, and even then he never remembered a single thing that occurred in them. But now, thinking back to brief flash of whatever the hell it was, he remembers it with startlingly clarity.

He remembered everything in those brief flashes of whatever the hell they were, the same way one remembered a past memory. He could look back and see the area that had surrounded the two speaking, could clearly picture the face of the older man he had been talking to, and he knew he had been the child, something in him telling him not to think otherwise.

It was like it was one of his own memories with the way he could look back at it, but he didn't remember it. He didn't know when or why he had been upset. Didn’t know who the man he had been speaking to was. Didn’t know who the black and crimson dressed woman was. Didn’t know where it was they were having that conversation. He didn't know anything and questions just continued to form, and he had no way of getting them answered.

The chime announcing the presence of potential customers rang throughout the otherwise quiet store. Yuu turns in the direction the door was placed, his eyes immediately spotting the pair walking in, thanks to the eye catching color of the males hair. They seemed to be arguing about something if the girls glare was any indication, their words low.

The argument immediately dies away, when the orange haired male catches sight of Yuu, his eyes widening slightly, before he whispers something to his shorter companion, and she whirls arounds, Violet eyes meeting Yuu’s own dark eyes.

Yuu feels himself tense at the sight of the familiar face, because he had seen her before, just days before, walking in the building before it was even open. Akane hadn’t said anything about her, and it hadn’t taken Yuu long to realize that Akane couldn’t see her. The girl has a smile on her face as she makes her way towards the register, the male whispering something in protest.

Yuu forces himself to relax, raising himself from his slouched position, but not moving from where he is seated on the stool. The dark haired girl stops in front of him, her hands clutched in front of her. She gives Yuu a bright and radiant smile, And when she speaks it’s in such a sickly sweet voice that has him wanting her away from him as soon as possible.

“Hello sir! I would appreciate some help in finding a book!” the girl is eerily happy, it immediately puts Yuu on edge. No one should ever be that happy. He sees the girls companion sputter something in disbelief not to far away, where he had started scanning the nearby bookshelves. His eyes shift back to the short female, she still has the much too innocent smile on her face that practically screams ‘I’m up to something.’ Yuu would know, he had to deal with the damn rabbit for so many years, it’s easy to pick it up on other people.

“What book?” He asks, because the sooner he can get them whatever damn book they’re looking for, the faster he can get them out of the damned store. The girl merely tilts her head to the side, as if she’s thinking.

“Rejection of the Twin Fishes!” She says, her hands coming up to clasp each other in front of her chest. Yuu can only stare in bewilderment, because not once had he heard of that book. Glancing back to where the orange haired male is blinking at his dark haired friend in just as much confusion as Yuu is feeling, he can guess he hasn’t either.

“We don’t carry that book.” He manages to get out. The girl merely stares at him, before once more smiling and continuing in that sickly sweet tone of hers.

“You did not even check!” She laughs, waving her hand at him, as if she found him silly. Yuu can already feel that this woman is going to be a headache.

“I don’t need to check to know we don’t carry it.” He gets out, a glare already forming on his face. The girl either doesn’t care, or doesn’t notice, because she continues to smile at him. Her bright haired companion does seem to though, because in the next instant he’s there shoving his way in front of his friend, giving Yuu a sheepish grin.

“Ah, sorry, she has a tendency to give books her own title,” He laughs, the shorter of two gives an undignified sort of squawk of protest, as she attempts to push the older male aside. “Can you just take us towards the historical fiction section?”

Yuu stares at them blankly, before letting out an irritated sigh. He pushes himself off the stool and makes his way around the register. He gives a lazy flick of his hand, silently urging the two to follow him. He leads them towards the back, it’s a short walk but it seems to drag out, what with the two behind him arguing, and then the male grunting out in pain every few seconds. He tunes them out for the most part.

He comes to a stop only a few shelves away from the the back wall, gesturing to the sign at the top of a bookshelf that reads Historical Fiction. “Here we are.” He says, and just because he absolutely has to he adds “If you need any more help, I’ll be up front.” and yeah he really hopes they won’t need any help. He doesn’t give them a chance to reply before he leaves, making his way back to the register.

He stares at the stool, and silently debates if he should just retake his seat or actually do his job and put out the new set of books that had just come in.

The gentle sound of footsteps approaching seems to decide for him. He knows it’s the female of the pair, before he even turns around. She still has that disgusting sweet smile, when she speaks.

“Hello! I just wanted to thank you for helping my friend and I, Sir!” She says. Yuu gives a grunt in acknowledgement, hoping that will get the girl to go away. The lack of of response doesn’t seem to deter her, because she continues speaking. “My friend is over there searching for the book we need, but I figured I would just get in his way, and decided to come wait in the front, I hope that is alright?”

Yuu very nearly rolls his eyes at the girl's words, but refrains. He gives another grunt, moving to the other side of the register. There are a small group of boxes in the back room he’s supposed to check, the books inside are a new novel that is set to be released later that week, he was supposed to check to make sure none of the books had been damaged, and ready the display table, he remembers. He should probably get out the inventory check sheet.

“Ah I should introduce myself!” The girl announces suddenly, and it takes Yuu a moment to realize she had still been speaking. Yuu is very tempted to tell the girl to just go away, but really the last thing he needs is for it to get back to Akane, and her come yelling at him. “My name is Kuchiki Rukia.” She gives a small wave, but Yuu barely notices.

His hand freezes over the sheets of paper his hand is skimming through.

_Kuchiki._

The name seems to echo in his head, it sounds loud and clear, and familiar. And Yuu, Yuu can’t for the life of him figure out why.

_Kuchiki Yuu._

_You’re name is Kuchiki Yuu!_

There’s a sharp pain in the back of his head, and Yuu stumbles forward, barely managing to catch himself on the cabinet, before he takes another nasty fall. His hand comes up to grasp at his temple where the pain seems to originate from. He hears someone shouting, and then the sound of running footsteps, but it’s all muffled, barely noticeable over the sharp pain going through his head.

_“Yuu! You shouldn’t be out here so late!”_

_\--_

_“My, My, Yuu always getting into all sorts of trouble!” laughter followed after those words, drowning out what sounded like angry mumbling._

_\--_

_“I thought they wanted the older Kuchiki?”_

_“What does it matter? The brat is still a Kuchiki.”_

_“W-where- Grandpa? Dad? Nii-san?”_

_“Hey he’s waking up!”_

_“Damn it!”_

_“L-let me g---!”_

\--

The hand that was holding him up, slipped from under him, and he pitched forward. His movements were sluggish, his body not reacting like it was supposed to and Yuu knew he was going to meet the floor with a painful crash. He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut, ready for his ungraceful meeting with the floor.

A pair of arms wrapped around him barely managing to catch him, his knees meeting the tiled floor with a painful thud, but his upper body never hit the floor. He head fell forward, hanging limp over what felt like someone’s shoulder. Dark strands of hair brushed against his face, and Yuu wanted to push himself up and away from whoever the hell it was he was leaning on, he didn’t want to be seen like this, not by anyone.

“Oi! Can you hear me!?” the voice was female, with a tinge of worry. It took Yuu longer than it probably should have to remember the duo that had been in the bookstore with him, of the girl who had been speaking at him. He tried to move, but his body didn’t move, he couldn’t even get his damn own finger to at least twitch. “I-Ichigo!”

“Damn it! Oi!” He felt hands on him, pulling him up and away from what must have been the girl. He was turned around and placed on the ground, and Yuu just wanted these people to stop touching him. His vision blurred, and he was barely able to make out the face that hovered over him. The males lips were moving, obviously speaking to him, but the words he was mouthing didn’t match with the words that Yuu was hearing.

\--

_“Come now Yuu, your stance is all wrong!”_

_“Tuck in your elbows.”_

_“You are going to overbalance yourself like that!”_

\--  
“Oi open your eyes!”

“Ichigo!”

_\--_

_“hahaha Yuu, pouting like that isn’t going to help at all!”_

The voices all seemed to mix together, growing louder, growing excited, frantic, sad, it was a mess, his head was becoming a huge mess. The pain in his head increased, the louder the voices got the worse the pain seemed to become.

He wanted everyone to shut up, he needed everyone to shut up. He needed silence. He needed, he needed, he didn’t know what he needed.

He felt a hand prod at his head, and Yuu, well Yuu had enough of people touching him. He raised his hand and slapped the hand away with more force than was intentional. The sound echoed in the empty bookstore.

The silent bookstore. As soon as the voices had come, they had disappeared just as quickly. His eyes snapped open, to meet the wide and worried violet eyes of the dark haired girl, and her friend. He shifted himself into a sitting position, shoving the hands that moved to help away. He blinked, raising his hand and flexing his fingers. They all moved properly, and his vision was clear, as if nothing had ever been wrong. He glanced to the side at a new set of approaching footsteps.

“Kanda!” Glancing up he saw the large muscled form of his coworker, Yachi. When had he arrived? The man is grinning at him in relief. “You probably shouldn’t move too much, I called an ambulance, they should be here soon.”

Yuu ignores his instructions, and moves to stand, ignoring the protests of the three occupants in the store. “I’m fine.” He let out, shoving off Yachi’s attempts to hold him back. The older man merely frowned at him in disapproval, Yuu ignored him.

“You’re fine on your own right?” He questioned, and when Yachi nodded, understanding he was referring to watching the store, he stumbled out from behind the desk the register was placed on. “Great, i’m heading home.”

“O-oi, wait for the ambulance!” Yachi scolded, moving to follow Yuu. The man went ignored as Yuu continued making his way to the store's exit. He exited the shop, glancing back briefly, and catching sight of the dark haired girl, (Rukia, she said her name was Rukia) and her partner. She was watching him, a speculative gleam in her eyes as he walked away.

And yeah, he had known she was up to something.

* * *

 

“Ah, damn that boy.” Yachi mumbles, one hand on his hip and the other running through his hair in frustration. He turns around to face Rukia and Ichigo, and with with sheepish grin continues “Sorry about that!” Rukia tilts her head in acceptance, while Ichigo waves the apology away.

“Does that happen often?” Rukia asks, her attention still on the direction Kanda disappeared. The man, Yachi (His name tag reads), shakes his head.

“Never, this is a first,” he says, as he begins collecting a scatter of papers that had fallen when Kanda had. “I mean, I’m surprised he was even left here on his own honestly.”

“Really? Why?” Ichigo questions, as he helps gather a spread of papers that had made it to the other side of the checkout desk. Yachi laughs.

“The kids a good worker,” he begins “He’s just not very good at interacting with others for long periods of time, doesn’t exactly say much.”

Those words give Ichigo pause. Byakuya doesn’t exactly say much, and apparently neither does his possible brother. Maybe it’s a Kuchiki trait? He chances a glance at Rukia, who is still speaking with Yachi. Rukia’s talkative though, well sort of, she doesn’t answer with silence and just pointed looks, or apparently grunts.

“Alright, Lets go Ichigo!” Rukia announces., coming to stand before him. Ichigo blinks in confusion.

“Eh? Where to?” Rukia lets out an annoyed sigh.

“We’re following Kanda.” She explains slowly, as if Ichigo is a particularly slow child. He lets out an indignant protest, but doesn’t get out much more than that, because Rukai grabs him by the shirt and drags him out of the shop. He has enough time to catch the man at the register blink at their quick retreat, before they round a corner.

* * *

 

Yuu barely manages to make it to the apartment complex building he’s staying at. His legs feel like they weigh twice as much as they had when he had woken that morning. His movements are stiff, and his vision begins to blur once, before it clears.

The sharp pain that he had gotten at the bookstore has returned, not as painful as before, but not something he could just brush off, but does anyway, because what else is he supposed to do? Go to a hospital? Yeah because that would turn out so well. He doesn’t have any sort of medical record, and if for some strange reason they do find something it will be years old, older than how old he actually looks, and how would he go about explaining that?

‘Yeah, I’m not the twenty years you believe me to be? I’m much much older, I had just stopped aging and have no idea why.’

And anyone who could possibly give him the answers he wants are long dead.

He slumps against the wall, and stares at the door that would allow him entrance to his room. He grunts as he digs his keys out from his pockets. Once the door is unlocked, he pushes the door open and closed none too gently. He walks in and lets himself fall forward on to the couch. He throws an arm over his eyes, and just lays there. He takes a deep breath, and lets it out. Doing the same thing repeatedly until the pain in his head fades.

He lets his eyes slide closed, the noises going around the apartment complex, (the yelling of the children three doors down, the slamming and opening of doors, the cheerful voices of people just arriving home from a day at work, or shopping) fading away.

* * *

 

When Yuu opens his eyes once more it’s to the thin rays of sunshine peeking their way through his window curtain and hitting him in the face. He twitches in discomfort, before he pushes himself up until his elbows are what are keeping him up. He blinks at the ticking clock on the wall, it’s going on to be seven in the morning soon. He shifts around until his feet are flat on the floor, his hands coming up to rub at his face.

He fell asleep. He had laid down and fallen asleep, he had gone and slept the rest of the entire day away, when he had no actual intention of sleeping. When was the last time that had actually happened? It only ever really happened when the damned beansprout forced him by knocking him out, if recalls correctly.

His hand twitches at the reminder of the short white haired exorcist. He pushes himself off the couch quickly, making a move to where his bedroom is.

He doesn’t need to remember the damn beansprout, not so damn early in the morning, not ever really. All it will do is remind him of the fact that he’s gone. The beansprout, the dumb rabbit, Lenalee, the damn scientist with the sister complex, all of them, gone.

And he’s still here because he doesn’t seem to age normally, not anymore at least, so he can’t even die that way. And he can’t bring himself to take his own damn life, because the thought of maybe possibly meeting with Lenalee again, and seeing her look of disappointment if she ever learned of what he did, it’s too much. Because nothing can possibly be worse than Lenalee being disappointed in you, but maybe, maybe she would understand.

He’s been alive for so many years, for longer than he should have ever been really. Maybe this is the consequences of being created in a damn test tube. And isn’t that just a bitch, he wasn’t even the one doing the dangerous experiments, but it’s him that suffers the consequences.

He lets out a humorless laugh, as he digs out a shirt for the day. Closing the dresser drawer with more force than is strictly necessary. He gets dressed quickly and wastes no time in leaving the apartment. The sound of dishes clattering makes him pause, and he glances down at where there is a tray of dishes, a bowl of rice knocked over. He lets out a sigh.

He doesn’t need to be a damn genius to know who had left him the food. Kimura Ayame must have sent her son to come to bring him food once more, and when he hadn’t answered, he had probably decided that leaving it in front of his door was the best idea instead taking it back home.

He lowers himself into a crouch, and quickly cleaning the splattered rice. He picks up the rest of the food bowls and pushes the door to his apartment open, he makes his way to the kitchen, and dumps the cold bowls of food into the sink.

Considering how intelligent the boy is according to his mother, he can be such an idiot at times, Yuu decides as he turns on the sinks faucet to help wash down the food, anything that can’t be washed down the sink is immediately thrown in the trash can not to far away.

Drying his hands on a piece of dish cloth, he has no idea where it came from, he doesn’t remember buying such a thing, he quickly makes his way out of the apartment once more, this time with no further distractions.

* * *

 

He’s being followed.

He doesn’t have to go in to work until noon, but he can’t really stand the thought of being inside his own apartment, not at the moment at least. He’s wandering around the shopping district, when he first catches sight of them. It’s a total accident really. He can’t sense them, and they seem to be watching, and following him from the higher buildings.

It’s as he’s passing a small cosmetics store, there’s a lady standing outside holding a mirror as other women try on the latest products. One of the potential customers, calls for the mirror holding ladies attention and she turns, her movements tilting the mirror just slightly upwards as Yuu is passing by. Something flashes across the the mirror and Yuu turns his head towards the mirror, just as another flash happens, and he catches the sight of an orange haired male, jumping to the building across from the cosmetic store.

He pauses, but he doesn’t turn, keeping his attention on the mirror. And he spots someone peeking over the buildings edge before they are dragged back by someone.

The lady holding the mirror rights herself, and the building disappears from view of the mirror. The lady sees him and blinks in surprise before a smile stretches her painted lips.

“Hello sir! How may I help you?”

Yuu scowls at the woman, and she shifts aside nervously, removing herself from his way. Yuu continues on, but this time with the knowledge that someone is actually following him.

Irritation spikes inside him the same time pain once more blooms from his temple. He staggers momentary, the mirror holding lady turning toward him in worry, and he catches another flash of the duo that are following him peak from over the building before once more disappearing.

Damn it.

He waved the mirror holding lady away, before righting himself. He straightened his jacket and after giving the cosmetic worker a barely noticeable nod when she asked if he was alright, he continued walking. He kept close to anything with a reflective surface, his eyes immediately catching the duo every time they jumped or moved.

Bright hair didn’t exactly help them in that matter.

* * *

  
"Why are we hiding?" Ichigo questions as soon his foot touches the concrete roof of the building. Rukia sends a glare his way, and he immediately moves to duck behind the buildings ledge.

He glances at Rukia, who is peeking over the ledge discreetly. He moves to do the same. Kanda can barely be seen at the angle he's at, he honestly does not see how Rukia, who is a lot shorter than him, can see the long haired male. He raises himself until his head is is no longer hidden, and can see the other male.

Kanda isn’t doing anything noteworthy. He’s been wandering around the area close to an hour now. He hasn’t entered any store, hasn’t even glanced at a shop, not like most people wandering around the area as well, with some exception of some cosmetic he had stopped at briefly.

Ichigo honestly thinks it had to do more with the crowd of females that had been blocking his way, than the actual store. Ichigo blinks, bored with the whole situation. Why the hell were they even following this guy? Why couldn’t they just ask Kanda if he was Byakuya’s brother and be done with it? What was the point of all this sneaking around?

A small hand wrapped itself around his sleeve, and with more strength than one would expect from someone Rukia’s size, tugged him down back behind the ledge.

“Ichigo!” Rukia hissed, a truly terrifying glare on her face. “What did I tell you!” She was still on her knees, crouched behind the building ledge, but Ichigo honestly felt like she was looming over him. He kept quiet in the face of his friends glare, merely raising a hand to scratch at the back of his head, sheepishly.

It seemed like the right course of action because Rukia turned away from him, with nothing more than a narrowed look, and back towards where Kanda was. Ichigo barely had time to straighten himself out before Rukia grabbed a hold of the back collar of his shihakushou and quickly dragging him across the building.

“R-Rukia!?” He questioned. Rukia made no move to slow down, instead speeding up instead.

“He’s gone!” Rukia lets out, and Ichigo can easily pick out the annoyance in her voice. He blinks up at his friend in confusion, before what she says finally registers in his mind.

“Kanda is gone!?” he exclaims in surprise. “What do you mean he’s gone!?”

Rukia releases her hold on the orange haired male, Ichigo barely manages to catch himself from hitting the hard ground. She turns to face him, eyes narrowed.

“He must have seen us, and made a run for it.” Rukia concludes, glancing in the direction Kanda had been only a few moments before.

“Yeah probably.” Ichigo nods his head in agreement. He’s actually surprised it hadn’t happened sooner, to be honest, considering this is the younger brother of Byakuya. He blinks up at his dark haired friend. Rukia’s eyes are darting around the area, trying to locate their target. Ichigo wonders why she just doesn’t search out his reiatsu...“Wait!”

Ichigo darts to his feet quickly as something just finally hits him.

“What do you mean he could have seen us?” the look he gets in return for that question is one in which Rukia is obviously questioning his intelligence. Ichigo huffs, but does not retract his question.

“I believe Kanda can see us.” she finally says. And okay, Ichigo should have really figured that out on his own, considering the fact that the entire time they had been following the other male around Rukia had made sure they would not be seen.

“So then-?”

“He must have seen us at some point.” Ichigo appreciates that Rukia isn’t putting the blame solely on him, even if he was probably the one the dark haired male had caught sight of. His hand raises to scratch at his head sheepishly, only stopping when Rukia continues to move.

“Rukia?” the Shinigami doesn’t pause, barely even glancing in his direction at the sound of her name.

“We’re going back to the bookshop Ichigo!” Rukia declares, before taking off. Ichigo follows after with a frown. Will the other even be there? He hadn’t exactly looked to good the last time they saw him, but then again Kanda had been wandering around town.

The thought of the bookshop incident made Ichigo frown. He had stayed back when Rukia had spoken to Kanda, he had been watching. The other male had been fine, only really showing a slight annoyance when Rukia had continued speaking to him, up to a point. Then he had tensed, grown pale, and his eyes had glazed over.

It had immediately put Ichigo on alert. The man collapsing had only cemented the thought that something had been wrong.

Ichigo quickens his pace until he’s running at pace with Rukia. She glances at him, but says nothing. She seems to understand that Ichigo has something on his mind.

If Kanda Yuu is who Rukia believes him to be, Ichigo can’t help but wonder, why would he run? Surely he would have figured that Rukia was a Shinigami? Wouldn’t he want Rukia’s help to get back to Soul Society?

But instead he had taken his escape the first chance he could to lose them. Ichigo’s frown deepens, because Ichigo was getting the feeling that perhaps Kanda didn’t know a thing about Soul Society.

Maybe he didn’t know a thing about the Kuchiki family at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I figured I should explain this here since so many have been asking this. What happened in DGM has happened, but this is some time after that. And the exorcists are dead. I would go further into this but it's all going to be explained later~
> 
> But I'm willing to explain further if anyone would like to know. Just ask me on my tumblr so I don't go spoiling things for people who wish to wait. (madxrabbit.tumblr.com)


	5. Chapter 5

They find Kanda sitting on a bench in one of the parks in town. It's still early in the day so not many people are out, the park is mostly empty with exception of a few people passing by on their way to their intended location. Rukia and Ichigo stop on top of a nearby rooftop ducking low so as to not be seen by the young man once more.

They had gone to the bookstore in search of him, hoping that would be where he would be, but arriving and a quick trip inside revealed that he had not stopped by. It had taken some time but Rukia had finally managed to get a good grasp of his spiritual pressure.

Ichigo can't help but wonder if Kanda is just really good at hiding his own spiritual pressure, or if it's just so weak that it can not be sensed. Rukia gestures at him to remain low, and Ichigo has to hold himself back from rolling his eyes at her. He learned his lesson the first time.

"So we're just going to wait and watch?" Ichigo questions feeling just a bit incredulous. Rukia sends him a look that tells Ichigo that he needs to shut his mouth and stop questioning Rukia. His mouth clicks shut and they both go back to watching. The silence lasts only a handful of minutes before Ichigo is speaking once more.

"Why don't you approach him again?" He suggests glancing over at his dark haired companion. Rukia keeps her eyes straight ahead, attention focused on their target. A frown tugs at her mouth though, and Ichigo attention immediately focuses on her. It takes a moment before she says anything.

"I told him my name," Rukia begins her eyes darting to Ichigo briefly and then away "he was fine until then." She doesn't elaborate further, not that she really needs to. Ichigo was there, had been standing a short distance away, he had seen what had happened. He had not been sure why it had happened, until now apparently.

His theory was beginning to feel more likely.

Rukia turns to face him, eyes serious. They narrow and he gives a shrug of his shoulders in response. Rukia huffs, a thin eyebrow raising in silent question. He lets out a sigh, knowing there was no point in keeping it himself.

"What if he doesn't know who you are?" Ichigo finally asks. He shifts until he's facing Rukia. Rukia narrows her eyes, before scoffing.

"Of course he doesn't know who I am Ichigo!" She says, hands clenching into fists. "He went missing before I came to be a part of the Kuchiki family!" Ichigo throws his hands up in a placating gesture at his friends ire.

"I didn't mean like that!" he reassures quickly "I meant what if he doesn't know you're a Shinigami!" his statement is met with a sudden silence that leaves Ichigo blinking. Rukia has a frown on her face, eyes focused on the floor before her. The look on her face tells Ichigo she had considered the thought but had quickly discarded it. Until he had mentioned it at least. He lets out a sigh.

"What if he doesn't know that he's a Kuchiki at all?" he adds softly. Rukia raises her head, her eyes meeting Ichigo's own. Her eyes are determined as they always are, and Ichigo wants to let her continue with whatever it is she's doing or has planned. The thing is, this is someone else's life, what right do they have to barge in and possibly ruin what life Kanda has built for himself on just the possibility that he might be the missing Kuchiki.

What if Kanda really is the person Rukia thinks him to be, but he doesn't remember? What would be the point of bringing him back to Soul Society or even letting Byakuya and the rest of the Kuchiki family know that the youngest son is alive, when in reality he really has been dead for years. Kuchiki Yuu has been missing for over a century, there is very little chance that the Yuu they would be getting back would be anything like the one they lost.

"I thought about it, you know?" Ichigo's eyes narrow in confusion. Rukia shakes her head at him in slight annoyance at the sign of him not following the conversation he had started. "I thought of leaving him alone, it's just a hunch anyway." she pauses, leaning forward enough to look over the edge of the building, Ichigo does the same. Kanda is still where they had last seen him, except now he's leaning back arm resting on the back of the bench and bent at the elbow, his head tilted to the side and resting against his hand.

"But then I thought of Kaien-dono and his sister and brother," Rukia's voice has Ichigo turning away from Kanda. She is still staring down at the other male, and her eyes flicker over to Ichigo quickly. He's heard about Kaien, the previous vice captain of the thirteenth division. He knows Rukia respected the man a great deal and he knows something happened to him, but he had never pried. He would never pry, Rukia would tell him whenever she was ready, if she ever wanted to. But this, this was the first she had ever even spoke his name to Ichigo. "it had me thinking that if Kaien-dono was alive, but had no memories would they still want him to return?" Her voice trails off.

_Would I want him to return?_ The words are left unspoken, but Ichigo hears them as if she had said them. Rukia turns to face Ichigo head on.

"What if it was Yuzu or Karin?" the question catches Ichigo off guard, and he blinks in surprise. A frown tugs at the tips of his mouth.

What if it was Yuzu or Karin? Well if it had been his family in the same sort of situation, Ichigo can honestly say he would never have stopped looking for his sisters. The same could be said about goat face. Ichigo can understand where Rukia is coming from, but Kuchiki Yuu has been missing for over a century. Had been taken from his home at a young age, what is the possibility that he is still alive.

"That is why we're investigating Ichigo." Rukia's voice comes out annoyed. Ichigo blinks, He must have said that out loud. Rukia huffs. "There's a reason why I have not told anyone about this."

Ichigo huffs out a short laugh. Really he should have known better than to question Rukia. There was no way she would just go around telling people what she found out without further proof.

Something flashes just behind Rukia drawing Ichigo's attention, It's a black butterfly. Rukia turns and catches sight of the winged messenger as well, and extends a hand for it to land when it was close enough. Rukia blinks when the hell butterfly takes off with a flutter of its wings, having delivered its message.

"I have to return." Rukia says.

"Hah?" She stands from her crouched position, chancing a glance at where Kanda still remains seated, none the wiser to their presence. Ichigo follows her, standing slowly.

"I have duties Ichigo." She says a frown on her face, as if she can't believe Ichigo forgot about them. Ichigo is indignant.

"I know that!" he exclaims, waving at the lieutenant's badge that is displayed proudly around her arm. "I just figured you would be here until we figured this out!" he blinks as a thought suddenly occurs to him, and it leaves him staring slightly wide eyed at the shorter girl.

"You didn't sneak out did you?" he questions, eyes narrowed as he looks at the lieutenant and the un-Rukia like behavior. Or maybe it is Rukia behavior he thinks, She had snuck away to follow him when he went to Hueco Mundo. Rukia scowls.

"Of course not, Idiot!" she says as if she had just been insulted. "I was on assignment!"

"How long have you been here?" Ichigo finds himself asking, curious. She had been with him the last two days, and Ichigo doesn't remember anything happening that would require a lieutenant to come down to the Human world. Or at least not in Karakura town.

"I was here a week, and then came back a day later." Rukia huffs. So maybe something had happened that did require a lieutenant. Rukia had been in the Human world a week, returned to Soul Society and then came back a day later. It must have been some time in the first week that Rukia caught sight of Kanda.

"Ah." He says.

"I'm going now Ichigo." Rukia declares, her hands on her hips as she stares down at him. It's strange, considering he's taller than her. "I'll try to return quickly, but until then I expect you to keep tabs on Kanda." Ichigo squawks indignantly.

"I have school!" he protests. Rukia shrugs and blinks at Ichigo slowly.

"Have Kon attend." she states matter of factly, as if it's the most simple solution. Ichigo can't help but protest, because it's a terrible idea. the worst. Rukia turns her back to him before he can even begin explaining why it's such a terrible idea. With a quick Shunpo she's gone, Ichigo is very tempted to yell after her. It's the thought that Kanda would probably hear him that stops him.

* * *

 

He sits and watches for some time, Ichigo is honestly not sure for how long. He stopped keeping track after the first hour. Kanda is still seated where Rukia and Ichigo had found him, the man hasn't moved. Parents that have been at the park for long enough are beginning to give the long haired male suspicious glances, but otherwise ignore him.

Ichigo has to hand it to the man, if it had been him on the receiving end of all those looks he probably would have left the park in a hurry. Ichigo shifts until he's in a more comfortable position, resting his chin against his hand. He stays still for only a brief moment before he lets his head fall.

He can honestly not take any more of this. Why did he allow himself to be dragged to this any how? Oh right, It was because it was Rukia and there really was no such thing as saying no to Rukia. He let out a groan. This just was not something he would willingly do. He has never had to sit back and just watch someone, he prefered the more direct approach. There was just no way Rukia would let him do it his way.

Except, Rukia wasn't here and would not be for some time. The thought had Ichigo sitting up straight, a plan already forming in his head. He pushed himself to his feet, he cast a glance towards the seated male before darting away from the rooftop.

First he needed his body back.

* * *

 

Ichigo makes it back to the park in record time. He slows to a stop just outside the park limits, taking a moment to catch his breath. His eyes immediately scan the park, looking over mother's and children until he locates the man he's searching for.

He's still there, seated in the same position Ichigo had last seen him in. He makes to approach, easily dodging cheerfully screeching children as they dart one way and another. Kanda's eyes are closed, and Ichigo has the feeling that the man might actually be asleep. That would actually explain why he hasn't moved in over an hour.

It isn't until he's almost at the park bench that the other man's eyes snap open, immediately zeroing in on him. There's no sign of sleep in those eyes as they stare at Ichigo. It gives him pause. They stay like that for much longer than Ichigo would like, Kanda staring at him as if trying to figure something out, and Ichigo standing tense and still.

"Hey." Ichigo finally says, giving a small wave. He hopes it did not come out as uncomfortable as he is actually feeling. Kanda blinks once before pointedly turning away from him. And okay, rude. Ichigo isn't sure even Byakuya is capable of snuffing someone like that. The man apparently does not want him anywhere around him, so Ichigo does the obvious thing and takes the seat next to him. Kanda doesn't even glance at him, simply keeps his attention on the small bird chirping away on a tree branch. And yeah Ichigo can see how this guy could be related to Byakuya.

"So uh, I'm Ichigo." He extends a hand to the long haired male seated next to him. He doesn't even receive a glance. "We met at the bookstore you work at some days ago?" he adds, because maybe the guy doesn't remember him. Yeah, Ichigo's not fooling himself.

Ichigo lets his hand drop to his lap. Yeah he probably would have had better luck watching from the rooftop. He leans back, crossing his arms.

"Anyway, you looked pretty terrible," Ichigo would just have to try and maybe Kanda will eventually give in and talk back. "you must be feeling better if you're up and about."

"That's good you know, being out and about, it helps sometimes." Ichigo feels like some old man encouraging youngsters to spend more time outside. Small talk has never been something he's good at. He would rather just ask what he wants to ask and get his answers quick and easy. If not, then find some other way to get his answers.

He doesn't think that approach will go over well with Kanda though.

"What do you want?"

The question has Ichigo stopping mid sentence. His attention shifting over to the man next to him. Kanda is staring at him with a blank sort of face that reminds him of Byakuya. It takes him a moment to actually answer. Kanda's eyes narrow in annoyance and that is what has Ichigo finally getting out some sort of answer.

"I just wanted to know how you were feeling?" he says. Kanda's eyes narrow in suspicion, like he doesn't believe what's coming out of Ichigo's mouth. He turns away once more, his attention falling to a soccer ball that rolls to a stop at his feet. He pushes himself to his feet, picking up the ball as he stands.

"Fine." He says, as he gently tosses the ball to the small girl that comes running for it. She smiles and lets out a happy thank you before returning to her friends. "I'm fine." He repeats when Ichigo's mouth parts to ask something else.

He doesn't give Ichigo anymore time to ask anything else before he's walking away, hands clenched tightly at his side. That more than anything has Ichigo not running after him. He bites back a groan, eyes immediately scanning the area for a good place to hide his body. He glances back at the long haired male's back.

"Ah, screw it!" He growls out as he turns to follow Kanda. What did it matter if he was in his body or running around as a soul? Either way the other man could still see him.

* * *

 

The room is quiet as she stands before her captain, back straight, her attention focused solely on the older man's face. Her captain blinked, confusion clear as he stared back at his Lieutenant. No doubt thrown by Rukia's request to return to the human world in three days time.

"You wish to return to the human world, again?" He questioned, leaning forward slightly.

"Yes sir."

Silence met her words and Rukia had to stop herself from taking back her request and apologizing for evening requesting such a thing. Ukitake frowns, eyeing Rukia seriously.

"May I ask why?" Rukia wasn't a fool she knew Ukitake wanted an explanation, wasn't asking if she could tell him. He wanted to know the reason behind his lieutenant's insistence for being in the human world. As far as he was concerned there was no reason for a lieutenant to be in the human world. And there really wasn't.

She contemplates just lying, making up some excuse to not have to explain what was going on, but the thought was quickly vanished from her mind. She would not lie to her captain. She took in a steadying breath before her lips parted and two words escaped.

"Kuchiki Yuu."

The name has Ukitake's eyes widening slightly, and narrowing just as quickly. His moves to speak, but Rukia cuts in and the man's mouth snaps shut, eyes intent on his lieutenant as she explains. She leaves nothing out, just continues on until everything she knew and believed about the situation was said.

The room falls into silence, Ukitake leaning forward in his desk arms folded across the top. It takes a moment before he speaks, but Rukia waits patiently.

"You are sure?" he questions, and Rukia can't nod her head fast enough. She's sure, she just needed someway to prove that she wasn't wrong.

"I see."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the super late and short chapter. I was having so much trouble with this chapter and still nothing really happens? 
> 
> Anyways! Please leave a review on your way out~!


End file.
